The North Star Catholic /

Anchorage’s Holy Family Cathedral celebrating 100 years

Established on Sept. 15, 1915 the parish became the first church built in Anchorage. The humble, wooden structure was replaced in 1947. Christmas that year was celebrated in the basement of the present church. It would take more than ten years for the cathedral, built in an art deco style, to be completed. In its earliest days, Jesuit priests provided for the pastoral needs of railroad workers and their families who hailed primarily from Eastern Europe. The Jesuits were responsible for much of the vast territory of Alaska. With statehood in 1959 and attention focused on Anchorage following the 1964 Good Friday earthquake, Rome announced, in 1966, the creation of the Archdiocese of Anchorage.

As Alaska’s marriage law unravels, we must speak the truth

While the judges have taken over the game on marriage, it is only at the 11th hour. For the past 40 years the old norms have been under relentless attack. Marriage has declined; divorce and cohabitation have climbed; and out-of-wedlock pregnancy has skyrocketed. The old deviancies have become the new norm, and the old morality the new deviancy. The children have suffered the worse, and because of that the future looks bleak.

Tips on keeping Christmas in Christmas

The purpose of this column is to assist you with some ideas on how to make Christmas truly special while keeping Advent intact. I recognize that our culture has progressed to an extraordinary level of false celebration that will be very difficult to overcome, so I am not expecting the complete and full reversal of the troubling remnants of the secular trends in Christmas; rather, I would like to make some suggestions that can help you and your families to make strong steps towards a deeply Christian and less material experience of Christmas.

BBC reality TV highlights Anchorage’s Holy Rosary Academy

The BBC reality tv program is aimed at children and young teens. Each episode takes a couple of ordinary British students, perhaps bright kids who are underachievers and a bit precocious. They show up at a school with high standards of discipline. Over the course of the week, the goal is to have them experience the affirmative values of a school that runs a tighter ship than they’re used to.
In the newly released Alaska show, the two girls arrive at Holy Rosary Academy in Anchorage with plenty of makeup, fingernail polish, teased hair, and some fairly showy winter garb.

Holiday events in the Anchorage Archdiocese

Editor’s Note: Below is a description of some of the upcoming Advent and Christmas events planned in the Anchorage Archdiocese. Stay tuned for more in the coming days.

Dec. 6th collection to support 35,000 aging religious

The 27th annual collection for the Retirement Fund for Religious will be taken up Dec. 6-7 in the Anchorage Archdiocese. The parish-based appeal is coordinated by the National Religious Retirement Office (NRRO) in Washington, D.C., and offers financial support for the day-to-day care of more than 35,000 senior Catholic sisters, brothers and religious order priests. The Anchorage Archdiocese contributed $69,899 to this collection in 2013.

St. Nicholas to visit Anchorage Dec. 6, public invited

On Saturday, Dec. 6, Anchorage children will gather at St. Nicholas of Myra Byzantine Catholic Church with hopes of spotting Saint Nicholas, the third century bishop of Myra and the inspiration behind much of the Christmas gift-giving tradition.

EDITORIAL: No Christmas by osmosis

Advent and Christmas don’t roll around, year-after-year, by default. They are very deliberate seasons — established and developed over time by the church — to assist us in renewing and reawakening our friendship with Christ.

New bishop’s chair at Anchorage’s co-cathedral once held John Paul II

An historic chair once used by Saint Pope John Paul II will play a central role when Our Lady of Guadalupe Church is established as a co-cathedral for the Anchorage Archdiocese on Dec. 12. Now considered a relic of the recently canonized pope, the high backed carved walnut chair, circa 1900, has resided in Archbishop Emeritus Francis Hurley’s private chapel in Anchorage since the pope’s landmark visit at Delaney Park Strip on Feb. 26, 1981.

Anchorage cathedral vandalized

The historic Holy Family Cathedral in Anchorage was vandalized on Dec. 2. The Dominican priests who staff the parish found it damaged and in disarray at about 4:30 p.m.

A video of the damage taken by Dominican Father Mark Francis Manzano shows overturned pews, spilt holy water, toppled liturgical furniture, including the archbishop’s presider’s chair and debris scattered throughout the sanctuary. Advent candles and the ambo were also thrown to the floor and a microphone connected to the sound system was ripped out.